A CHEEKY piece of graffiti spotted at Essex University has got people questioning if the notorious Banksy has come to Colchester.

Wivenhoe resident and Colchester Town Crier Robert Needham spied the piece of art while on a walk round the Colchester campus.

It shows a photographer pointing a camera right at the person looking at the piece, with the words “snap snap snap” around it.

Mr Needham said his immediate thoughts ran to graffiti artist Banksy.

He said: “I was completely convinced. I live in Wivenhoe and it is within my two to three mile walk I do everyday.

“I had actually just changed my route when I came across it.”

Banksy is an artist who is known across the world for leaving humorous and politically pointscoring pieces of art in surprising public places.

Gazette: Banksy's Slave Labour was removed along with a section of the wall of Poundland, in Turnpike Lane, In February

His pieces have become so sought after that there have been instances where thieves have stolen the artwork from their original places.

Mr Needham said: “I have never seen a Banksy in real life, apart from the ones I have seen replicated in books.

“But I recognise the style and this piece is definitely in Banksy’s style.

“The university hasn’t actually confirmed whether it is or isn’t by Banksy. They aren’t able to say.

“I haven’t really told anyone else exactly where it is. I don’t want it to be destroyed.”

The piece is hidden by the side of a building close to the Wivenhoe House Hotel.

If it is by Banksy, it would not be the first time he has paid a visit to north east Essex.

Two years ago a stencil showing a group of pigeons holding anti-immigration banners towards an exotic-looking bird appeared in Clacton-on-Sea. But it was quickly removed by Tendring Council, following a complaint it was “racist”.

Street artist Banksy announced on his website he created the mural in the build-up to October 2014’s Clacton by-election, which was won by UKIP.

Essex University said it had been aware of the Colchester graffiti for some time but it was a mystery as to who it was by. Dr Gavin Grindon, Director of the Centre for Curatorial Studies at the University of Essex, who curated the Museum of Cruel Designs at Banksy’s Dismaland, said: “I don’t think it is one of his.

“A lot of people see stencils and identify them as something by Banksy, but there are thousands of other people out there now using stencils to make street art.”

A University of Essex spokesman said: “Whether it is a Banksy or not, it makes you stop and think.

“We’ll be leaving it where it is for others to enjoy and people are welcome to come to try to find it.”